


Midnight Kiss

by boltschick2612



Category: Hockey RPF
Genre: M/M, New Year's Eve, Phoenix Coyotes, Tampa Bay Lightning
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-01-13
Updated: 2013-01-13
Packaged: 2017-11-25 09:34:28
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,412
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/637500
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/boltschick2612/pseuds/boltschick2612
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Even Hockey Players need someone to kiss at Midnight on New Year's Eve!</p>
            </blockquote>





	Midnight Kiss

**Author's Note:**

> Written on New Years Eve, 2011 when the Lightning were playing the Hurricanes at home and Mike Smith was out for the Coyotes with a groin injury.

 

The final notes of the "Star Spangled Banner" float from the pipe organ and fill the air at the Tampa Bay Times Forum. At center ice stand the 12 men who make up the starting lines for their respective teams.

Steve Downie is standing with his eyes down, fixated on the pure white ice. Steven Stamkos is staring straight ahead, gently swaying back and forth in time with the music.

Ryan Malone is squinting against the lights, staring at the box suite that the team's Captain, Vincent Lecavalier, usually reserves for his visiting family. Being one of five Americans on the team, Ryan usually makes an extra effort to appear respectful and attentive during the National Anthem, but tonight his mind was preoccupied by the mysterious figure he saw appear in the suite during warm-ups.

Pavel Kubina and Eric Brewer are both still as stone, Pavel looking at the ice, Eric at the large lighted pipe organ that was perched on a stage high above the stands.

And Dwyane Roloson makes a break for his net before the final notes of the Anthem have even had a chance to fade.

Tonight was New Year's Eve, and the Lightning were playing the Carolina Hurricanes at home. Most of the members of the Lightning had other things that they much rather be doing, whether it was downing drinks or just spending time with family. None the less, the boys knew they needed to keep their head in the game tonight.

They were just coming off a two game winning streak, which they desperately needed, and the Hurricanes were only three points behind the Lightning in the SouthEastern Conference. The puck drop and ensuing minutes were relatively uneventful, and Ryan couldn't help but to return his gaze to the box suite several times throughout his shift. It wasn't so much the fact that there was someone there that caught his attention, it was the fact that the person was alone...and something about him seemed so .....  _familiar_.

Ryan had just been scanning through the stands during warm-ups, partly out of boredom, partly out of curiosity over how many fans were actually attending tonight. It was purely by accident that Ryan saw the man walk into the suite, if he hadn't been looking in that area at exactly that moment, he would have gone through the whole game unaware of the lone man that seemed to possess so many mannerisms that he somehow knew.  

But he did know he was there, and as hard as he tried to make out the details, to see exactly who the man was, the ice was just far too great a distance to see any sort of defining features. The man was now listing about the suite, moving as if it caused him pain to walk, yet at the same time caused him pain to sit.

Ryan's shift was over and he immediately skated towards the bench, hopped over the boards, and forced his way into the small empty spot next to Lecavalier on the bench. 

"Hey Vin, you got friends in town or something?" Ryan asks, leaning over to Vinny so that he could be heard over the noise of the Forum.

"No...Why?" Vinny says absentmindedly, almost dismissing the conversation in favor of keeping his mind on the game.

"There's someone in your suite...and he looks..." Ryan starts to say, but lets his voice trail off when he sees Vinny's attention declining.

"Oh...yeah, that's Richie," Vinny says while looking up ice, not meeting Ryan's eyes.

"Huh. Well, Tell him I said 'Welcome to Fantasy Camp'," Ryan says, letting out a sideways smile. Vinny either doesn't hear him, or chooses to ignore him.

Ryan knew that the New York Rangers were in town, having played the Panthers the night before, and he guessed it was all too possible that Brad Richards was just using the opportunity to visit his former team and very close friend. He supposed that all this could very well be true, and probably was, but for some reason...he still didn't believe it. 

The game progressed, and Ryan continued to keep his eyes fixated on the suite, wither he was on the bench or on the ice. Right now was one of those times he was on the ice, camped out in front of his goaltender and trying to provide some defense against a hard fighting Hurricanes team. There was five minutes left in the game and the score was 3-0 in favor of the Lightning, but the Hurricanes weren't letting that deter them. Eric Staal and Jussi Jokinen were buzzing around the Lightning's net, trying for that desperation goal. 

Ryan's gaze gravitates to the suite again, only to see it empty. His attention is snapped back to the game at hand when his peripheral vision is filled with a red light, but by then it's too late. His misdirected attention has caused a defensive lapse, resulting in a goal for the Hurricanes.

Roloson slams his stick on the cross bar and bends down to fish the puck from the back of his net.

"Get your head outta your ass, Bugsy!" Roloson shouts to the back of a retreating Ryan.

                                                                                             -X-

The rest of the game passes without any further goals by either team, and Ryan makes sure to hunt down his goalie after the game and apologize for personally ruining his shutout bid. Roloson has always been the type of person to get over things quickly, and now is not any exception.

Ryan has almost forgotten about the familiar stranger by the time he heads for the showers, and had completely forgotten by the time he steps out from the shower, naked, water collecting in puddles around his feet.

                                                                                              -X-

Ryan stepped out of the back door of the Forum, taking in the cold, crisp air. He starts to walk to his car when he notices that there is someone leaning against it.

It was the man from the suite, but now he was close enough for Ryan to make out his sharp features and light brown hair. His heart starts to race as he summons up all his restraint not to run to the man and embrace him. Instead he just slowly makes his way to his car where Mike Smith is leaning against the door.

"You know, somehow I thought that was you..." Ryan says smiling, and then something dawns on him. "I thought you were supposed to be in Minnesota tonight?"

"The only good thing about being on Injured Reserve is exercising the option not to travel," Mike says, and reaches to grab Ryan by the waist and pull him closer.

"I couldn't very well leave you with no one to kiss at midnight, could I?" Mike whispers seductively. Ryan looks at Mike confused for a few seconds, wondering what Mike could be talking about, and then he understands.

"You know, in all the business of the game and trying to figure out if I was hallucinating, I forgot that it was New Year's Eve," Ryan says, and tilts his head forward until his forehead is resting on Mike's, mimicking the "goalie head butt" that players usually shared on the ice. This had become something of a greeting that the two of them started sharing sometime around the time they fell in love

"Hope I didn't mess up your plans..." Mike says smiling, knowing good and well that Ryan had no plans.

"My only plans are right here, right now," Ryan says smiling, and another detail from the night creeps into his brain. "Did Vinny know you were coming? Did he let you use his suite?" 

"Yep, but I told him I just wanted to visit you guys...see a good friend. I did tell him I wanted to keep it a surprise", Mike says.

Ryan laughs and says "Frenchie lied to me..."

"So you came here just so I wouldn't be alone at midnight?" Ryan asks, and he's genuinely touched.

"Yep."

Mike smiles, looks around to make sure that no one is around, and then places his hand on the back of Ryan's neck, pulling him closer. He presses his lips to Ryan's, and bites at his lower lip before releasing six months of longing into a single kiss.  Ryan slowly pulls back and asks "What time is it, anyways?"

Mike looks at his watch and says "Eleven fifty nine."

"Good, then we got time for one more....."


End file.
